Rail line must take priority

Published 5:54 pm, Friday, October 11, 2013

The power failure that last month shut down the Metro-North New Haven rail line was a severe blow to the state's economy, let alone to the daily rhythms of the line's 125,000 riders.

Though service has been restored through some adjustments, as long as the power feeder cable that failed goes unrepaired, the New Haven line remains vulnerable to collapse.

So we support Gov. Dannel P. Malloy, who Friday demanded that the Consolidated Edison Corp. make repairing the failed 138,000-volt cable a high priority.

ConEd officials say repair may not be complete until Oct. 22.

In a letter to Kevin Burke, ConEd president and chief executive officer, Malloy wrote, "This corridor is too critical to our economy to have this repair delayed any longer. I urge you to apply all possible resources and scheduling techniques to complete this project much sooner than October 22."

Malloy estimated that the shutdown that occurred on Sept. 25, when all was said and done, cost the state $62 million.

There is, of course, the larger issue raised by the power failure: the overall reliability of an aging rail line.

From the track bed below, to the fragile web of electric power lines above, the system itself is overdue for a comprehensive upgrading of all of its parts.

Just last May, two Metro-North New Haven Line trains collided after a derailment near the Bridgeport-Fairfield line during a Friday evening rush period.

Though no one was killed, the accident sent 73 riders, two engineers and a conductor to local hospitals. A preliminary investigation found a section of track resting on an unstable base.

With 35-ton rail cars hurtling along at 70 miles per hour, the potential for terrible calamity from a derailment is quite real.

And another example of a system crying for upgrade is this: the feeder cable that failed was 36 years old. It was designed to have a 30-year life.

The governor's letter also renewed his appeal for ConEd to reimburse the state and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) for costs associated with the service failure, including refunds to riders.

"The importance of this line to our local economy cannot be understated," the governor wrote.